Apparently I Work at Home
I don't know how this happened, but apparently I now work at home. Please excuse my bra strap. I work at home, so I can wear whatever I want to work, thank you very much. Let me tell you how this all happened. One day, I got an email from my best friend's husband, who works in television production. He asked me "how fast do you type?" to which I replied "Um...pretty fast." He then asked if I wanted to try some transcription. A friend of his worked for a production company and was in need of transcribers for raw footage for television shows. I was so happy that he thought of me, and told him as much. I said "why not?" and "I'll give it a shot." I transcribed for shows on Nat Geo, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and TLC; I loved it, and (not to toot my own horn) I was good at it! I knew my auditory skills would come in handy some day! Recently, I've been watching and transcribing a lot of Extreme Couponing, which makes me never want to pay for groceries again. When Ari watches me transcribe, he comments about all the food these [...]
Win a Copy of Mayim Bialik’s Book: Beyond The Sling!
A couple of months ago, I wrote to Mayim Bialik's Public Relations representative and asked if I could review Beyond The Sling Bialik's new book on Attachment Parenting, here on my blog. She was really great and sent along two copies, one for review and one for a giveaway! I even had the chance to meet Mayim at a press conference for her book, and do an interview with her. Heather and Shida you're awesome! Thanks for making that happen ladies. Click here for the interview.Beyond the Sling is a memoir-infused book on Attachment Parenting. What I found particularly interesting about it was how Bialik talks about parenting from a biological perspective. The fact that Bialik holds a PhD in neuroscience informs the book to a great extent. She discusses how hormones play a role in the foundation of parent child bonding; for example, there are biological reasons why we are made to sleep close to our young. In addition to the scientific truths, Bialik shares her own stories struggles as a parent. She mainly talks about the philosophies of Attachment Parenting, one of which is "gentle discipline," approaching your child with empathy, but at the same time setting limits [...]
An Interview With Mayim Bialik
I recently had the opportunity to attend a press conference on Mayim Bialik's new parenting book "Beyond the Sling." I was really excited. I had the chance to interview Mayim after the press conference about her book, which, by the way is fantastic. It's a memoir-based parenting book on Attachment Parenting and her own experiences as a mother. Mayim, as you may know, was an actress on the TV show Blossom from the early 90's. She then went on to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience at UCLA, get married, and have two sons, Miles and Fred. After having kids, she became a fierce breast feeding advocate and a certified lactation consultation. Here's what Mayim had to say about her book. She even gives me some suggestions on Ari's sleep issues.I'll be giving away a copy of "Beyond The Sling" soon. Stay tuned for more details on that.
My Eyes Clapped Twice
I was reading Charlie and The Chocolate Factory to Ari, before he went to bed, and he stopped me. "Mommy, when you were talking, my eyes clapped twice." "What do you mean?" I asked him. He blinked his eyes slowly, two times. "See?" He said looking up at me. "Oh, you mean, you were falling asleep?" I asked "Yeah, my eyes clapped twice." I want to live inside his brain.
I Know What I Need!
I woke up to the sound of Samara crying. "Get her..." Wil mumbled. He had already given her a bottle of milk two hours ago, and she was up again. I got her, put her in her booster seat and made her oatmeal and yogurt. As I was feeding her, I heard the bathroom door opening and closing. "Ari, do you need help?"No response. I waited."Ari, did you poop?""I need help!"I open bathroom door and there is a giant mound of diarrhea on the floor."Sorry mommy," He says with a frown. "I tried to go to the potty, but I didn't make it.""It's okay, next time just go on the potty okay?""Okay..." He mumbled looking at the poop."I have to clean this up now." I said groggily "WIL!""What?! I just want to sleep!""You need to get up because I can't do everything! Please feed Samara breakfast!"Grumble, grumble. He does it.After I am done cleaning up massive amounts of poop and sanitizing the floor, I take a much needed shower, while Wil plays with the kids and irons clothes for work at the same time, then I make my coffee and turn on my computer to check my email. Maybe someone [...]
Bullying
I want to talk about bullying. When I was in elementary and junior high school, at any given time, somebody was making fun of somebody else. And, sadly, I admit that I was involved in the process of making fun of others. To an extent, I think it was peer pressure, wanting to fit in, wanting to be liked. But what I've noticed, is that bullying, teasing, and the like is starting at a younger age now. I've seen Pre-K kids gang up on one particular child. But, the sad thing about bullying is that there is a silence associated with it. I don't remember telling my parents about the fact that "today we were making fun of this person because he was fat," or "we were mocking this girl because she smelled bad." It all happened between peers. This makes me terrified for when I send Ari to school. I can only draw from my own experience, as a frame of reference. And from what I recall, I didn't tell my parents about making fun of other kids, and I didn't confide in them about when I was being bullied in the 8th grade. Although, actually, I did tell [...]
De La Soul is Alive
A few years ago, a tragic event occurred; I sold my Ford Focus to my mechanic's son. Unbeknownst to me, there were 500 of my CDs in the trunk. Somehow they "accidentally" got thrown out. One of those CDs was the classic hip hop album "De La Soul is Dead." Sadly, this album is not available on ITunes. Every time I would search for it and it wouldn't come up, I'd cry. I posted on Facebook about my loss. I couple of days later, after I had repressed my musical woes, my friend Justin sent me a message. I downloaded a large file, not knowing what to expect. The file came through and a huge smile lit up my face when I saw what it was: I was so excited. I wasted no time. I loaded the album into ITunes and the kids and I started dancing. Thank you Justin 😀
Time Stopped
It was 1:25pm and I was in a rush. I had to pick Ari up from art class. I strapped Samara into her car seat and drove down my block. I arrived in front of the art class and parked the car in front of a fire hydrant. I opened the driver's side door and leaned my body diagonally across the car to unbuckle Samara and take her out. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like an explosion. I was certain a bomb had just gone off. I turned my head to see glass flying through the air towards me and onto the street. I ducked and covered my face and my body. I looked back at Samara, she was fine. I was fine, physically. We were both fine. I stepped out onto the street. I saw a small yellow school bus. A pregnant woman stepped out of it. "Are you okay?!" She asked me "I'm shaking." She said looking at her hands. "I'm okay," I replied. "I'm shaking too." "How far along are you?" I asked "33 weeks," she replied. "I have to get my kids!" I looked at the driver's side door of my car. The [...]
The Rules of Inheritance- A Review and Interview With Author Claire Bidwell Smith
I recently had the opportunity to read Claire Bidwell Smith's memoir, "The Rules of Inheritance." When I first read the description of the book, I was filled with trepidation. It was described as a memoir about the author, Claire, losing both her parents to cancer by the time she was 25 years of age. As an intrinsic rule, I try to stay far away from books like this one, books about death. I’m scared of dying, and I’m terrified of my loved ones dying, but something intrigued me about this particular book. Perhaps it was because it was about a taboo topic, or maybe I wanted to conquer my own fears surrounding death. Recently, after having my own kids, I’ve become hyper-aware of my own mortality, and that my parents won’t be around forever. I decided to face my fears about death and read Bidwell Smith’s memoir. It turns out that "The Rules of Inheritance" is about so much more than death and grief. The book is about a young woman who is trying to find her place in the world, which I could definitely relate to. I remember being 14 and having my very first panic attack. I was [...]
What I Did Today…Uh Oh…
Ari had a very busy day today. I had no idea how he felt about it, until he recorded a video describing his escapades. It has subtitles in case you don't speak three year-old. Watch out for the end, where he incorporates the element of surprise.
The Road to Mongolia
On Monday nights, I play Magic The Gathering with a group of guys. I was introduced to Monday Night Magic by my doula, Cori's, husband Kodjo. One of the regulars at Monday Night Magic is Ernie. One fateful night, Ernie mentioned that he was going to do something crazy over the summer. He, and a couple of guys that he trains with at New York Jiu Jitsu, Jumanji and James, were going to raise the money to buy an ambulance and drive it from England to Mongolia. On this journey, they would pass through 17 countries and they might even blare the siren on the ambulance some of the time, just because they can. When I found out about this, I thought it was an awesome concept, and I told Ernie I wanted to make the guys a video describing their trip. Without further ado, here's what I came up with, The Road to Mongolia.
4
In this photograph, you are barely three. It's hard to believe that you won't stay this small forever. You're growing taller every day, and with that physical growth comes along emotional change. You are no longer a baby, but a boy; a boy who questions things, a boy who will one day be a man. In three months you will be four. Four years ago you entered this world. I love your persistence, you never give up. When you're determined to do something, you try and try until you learn it. Never give that up. You are so strong, and so loved. I cannot wait to see the man you will become. This post is a part of "Memories Captured."
Mama/Son Day Out
Last night, Ari and I did something we haven't done in a long time. We spent a night together. It was just Ari and I, no Samara, no Wil. Just us. We ate pizza and cupcakes, rode the D train and made funny faces. I had a blast, and I think he did too. It was really nice for us to spend time together. I didn't realize how much I missed indvidual time with my boy, until we had our night together. I've noticed lately, that Ari has been doing a lot of baby talk and general regressing because of Samara, but there was none of that happening last night. We had full on conversations, and enjoyed hanging out and being silly. This night was a reminder that I need to make a concerted effort to have a regularly scheduled individual time with my boy. I also noticed that he was really well-behaved, and didn't act out, which is unusual as of late. I realized that he's been acting out in order to get attention from me. Last night, we were hanging out and having one on one time, he didn't need to act out to get attention. We could [...]
Hi!
Samara's favorite word to say is "Hi." In fact, "hi" was her first word. Ari's first words were "What's that?" He was, and is, a curious boy. Samara, it turns out is a social butterfly. I've compiled a few videos of her saying hello to other people, and to herself. Enjoy!
A Sad Day- The End of Nursing
Today is a sad day. Today is the last day I will nurse Samara. I didn't want to wean her just yet, but I'm in a situation where I have to stop breastfeeding to preserve my own health. I have another MRSA infection, and it's on my face. MRSA, for those of you that don't know, is an more aggressive form of staph bacteria. It is not responsive to typical antibiotics and requires the use of stronger medications. The dermatologist has prescribed me a more potent antibiotic that will probably make me shit my brains out, but will also ward off MRSA. I'm taking probiotics so here's hoping they will combat the gastrointestinal war that is about to take place in my body. Earlier today, the dermatologist laid it all out for me: " The most effective treatment for an abscess is drainage. Since you're breastfeeding there are limited medications that we can give you." She said matter-of-factly. "What would give me if wasn't nursing?" I wanted to know. "A stronger set of antibiotics. We want to knock MRSA out." "Okay..." I said, bewildered. I didn't know what to say, or what the right decision was. Should I go with [...]